G4

G4 are a vocal troupe made famous by the X-Factor television programme. Their members are Jonathan Ansell, Matthew Stiff, Mike Christie and Ben Thapa. Their self-titled debut album reached Number One for Mother's Day weekend 2005.

The band's act currently consists of singing operatic versions of contemporary songs, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Creep" and "Everybody Hurts", and arrangements of popular operatic pieces, such as "Nessun Dorma", and "La donna è mobile". Memorably, during their "Bohemian Rhapsody" performance, Ansell mimes the action of putting a gun to his own head.

Following a spectacular rise to fame, their hugely successful debut album " G4" entered the UK album charts at Number 1, selling an amazing 245,000 in its first week alone. It has already been certified double platinum status and has now sold in excess of 700,000 copies, meaning it is well on its way to triple platinum status. The LP, produced by Brian Rawlins, Graham Stack and legendary producer Trevor Horn, also launched the hit singles 'Bohemian Rhapsody/Everybody Hurts' and 'Life on Mars'.

G4 are Jon Ansell (23), Matt Stiff (25), Michael Christie (24) and Ben Thapa (23). In June this year they completed a major sell out tour of the UK, with 25 dates across the country including a sell out performance at London's Royal Albert Hall alongside special guests Robin Gibb and Lesley Garrett. Earlier this month G4 also performed at the prestigious BBC Proms In The Park.

"The atmosphere at Proms In The Park was electric. To have the audience singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody whilst there was real thunder and lightening overhead was truly a one off experience! Plus to work with a live orchestra and be a part of the honour of the proms is very special for all of us too. It was definitely a definitive moment in our careers" asserts Matt.

Naturally gifted performers who were formally trained at the Guildhall School of Music, G4 originally met as a busking group who sang live across London to earn money and experience. Jon saw an advert for the X-Factor auditions and applied on a whim. They delivered great performances and wowed a captivated audience week after week, and the rest is history.

"It's just been incredible to think that it's been a year since we were there. To watch people on X Factor now, we can only have real empathy for them. I saw the advert for it on the side of a London double-decker bus recently and it really hit me what has happened to us." muses Ben.

"We joked last year that maybe one day Louis Walsh would be our manager, and now here we are" admits Mike. "He's incredibly supportive and very experienced."

The original decision to add modern songs to their classical repertoire came out of the group's personal musical passions as well as their desire to continually challenge themselves. This is evident with the release of their second album 'G4 & Friends' which features some of the UK's most talented and respected artists.

"We've got some really exciting collaborations including Robin Gibb, Lesley Garrett, and Sir Cliff Richard" says Mike. "Considering how little time we've been in the public eye, we never thought working with such people would be possible."

Although it has only been a year since G4's debut album, they have clearly developed as Artists. "In recording this album we've evolved through our experiences and have enjoyed more time to develop ideas. We're really proud of it" says Ben.

"We're planning to go on tour with the new album next year and return to the stage" adds Matt. "Essentially we're a vocal harmony group and our strength lies in singing live. After all, that's how we were trained"

If G4 could each sum up their motto for success it would be to work hard and play hard. "We enjoy ourselves so much doing what we're doing, especially performing live, we're just having an incredible journey. The two do tend to blur across. People say to us that they can really tell that we're enjoying ourselves." says Ben.

"Going on what's happened in the last year, who knows what the future could hold" adds Jon. How true.
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